Poems

Remember, remember the fifth of November Guy Fawkes and Gunpowder Plot Not a day for quiet or peace But bedlam, as likely as not Gone are the days of a Catherine Wheel A penny or “tuppeny” banger Or a rocket turned into an aeroplane With cardboard and a coat-hanger...

I walk alone along the street Faces blur, I just see feet As I push my way out through the crowd I’m not here, I’m falling down Breathing out, breathing in Dark and black through my head spin. I walk alone full of despair Some people turn, some people stare No-one can...

The scream inside my head Never ending Always there Some days louder Tearing my soul apart I hide it well And hope One day It will end

Life isn’t a journey It’s a trial All you can do Is try your best And hope At the end You win

October's nearly over The wind is swift and chill It scatters showery rainclouds And leaves that once were still How could this summer fly by With hardly any sun? What happened to the barbies Where we would have some fun? The rain was ever-present And sunny days were...

When the ocean’s no longer a home to the seas and the ‘Mistral’ doth blow, now only in breeze When the rivers run dry under floundering sky I will hold you, till then my love When carpets now cover the valleys so green and flowering blooms don’t wish to be seen When...

I wonder if you sit and think Of something unusual to you A subject seldom talked about But now and again comes into view Throughout our lives at sometime we’ve seen Mythology demonstrated in sight Portrayed perhaps in many colours And some which might encourage...

When asked to define a “Secret Love” Just where would you think to start Are your thoughts on passion alone Or maybe affairs of the heart For love is explored in so many ways With many very differing views Of what should be a normal love Which many may deem to confuse...

In dreams of yester year when you were mine Completely so in love like no one before Or yet to come who had a love so divine Facing life together weathering any storm Two hearts beating as one in complete unison Seeing the love shining with each new morn But life...

Couldn’t wait to see you hold you Breathe you in, wrap you in my arms Loved your eyes, your smile, your kiss I couldn’t ask for more you were my all My lover my soul mate my hero my best friend You were always my darling You were all I ever wanted all I ever needed...

My heart cries but it is not heard Deep within my soul kept hidden From the world I can’t explain The reason is too deep inside To say it out loud what good would it do For the cause of my grief was set in stone By a cruel twist of fate in a cold sea Never to be...

How long is a lifetime I wonder every day Where minutes seem to be like hours As time drags on it’s way Where once I had the Midas touch My dreams just turn to rust All the things that I hold dear Now crumble in my hands falling in the dust How can my life have...

Sit if you will and close your eyes Deep in thought but not asleep Just think about the complexity of Life And the myriads of secrets you keep Cosseted deep within you Where nobody else can pry Only known to you alone As the hands of time pass by But you know when you...

Sixteenth Century English, Although it often rhymes, Is like a foreign language When read in present times. If we are to enjoy the plays We should produce remakes. We could rewrite, “What light Through yonder window breaks?” Into modern language Which everyone can...

That was her chair; She always sat there. Her natural place; No invading her space. That’s where she sort Of sat and held court And after she died Dad sat there and cried. I looked in his grave; He lay next to Mum And then, in my head, A picture had come Of days when...

Where forest pine retreats up mountain side Where heather twixt the bracken hugs the soil Where belles of blue doth carpet hills with pride Where one young boy did watch his Father toil Midst all the beauty nature can display Midst all creation’s sights one doth...

The bankers have prosperity, The Greeks have got austerity. The Spanish and the Portuguese Are also suffering a squeeze And they may leave the Euro zone To try to make it on their own. If they do I guess we’ll see An end to common currency. If so the EC could disband...

Every day I see your pain It's in your face Your measured pace Every day I see your hurt All his lies Are in your eyes Every day I see your life Just slipping by Your bitter cry Every day I see so much How you long For someone strong Every day I see you try To hide...

The cry goes up within our words, forsooth the truth will out Dichotomy of choice confronts and holds the weary mind in thrall For readers sake a meaning clear, or guaranteed to raise a doubt A baring of one’s soul or exposé of facts that cloud the call Metaphor...

You don’t need a red rose, you have all my love You don’t need a red heart to show how much I care You don’t need heavenly stars from up above You don’t need to be shown that we are a pair My gift to you a single rose pure and white My gift to you is a wish for inner...

Listen to laughter Hear happiness Share your best smile Feel the freedom of choice See the sunrise Love your loved ones Touch with tenderness Weep for wickedness Grieve for those gone Forgive others faults Do good deeds Give graciously Treat yourself tenderly

If compassion came in a bottle I would drink from it often and Allow it to quench my thirsting soul Dilute my heartaches Wash away my tears Refresh my brittle spirit Soften my hardened heart Let it flow and weave into Every corner of my weary being Uplifting my spirit...

I thank you for the many blessings Which have you have bestowed upon me Whilst at the same time gently caressing And repairing the faults that are mine Too many I hasten to add not just a few Holding me back they lessen the shine That you know is deep down inside The...

Bereft of loves intention, I linger still in time as was Each hour was so fulfilling, sharing life’s inherent dreams One haunting day took thee away, a place I could not follow My wish, to yet enjoin somehow, perchance upon the morrow Spent embers counted in my heart,...

"Unaccustomed as I am" to handing Stan some Laurels In scrapes aplenty we’ve endured, I have to cede he is a hoot His end retort "well, that’s just swell" and added "humph" you hear him toot Endears him to the world at large, exuding innocence and morals "Excuse my...

As they go, my Dad joins the khaki line He turns and waves for what was the last time I had never seen so many young men before Joining their friends and workmates to go to war War to me was just a game with toys No one hurt, No one killed, just us boys Going home at...

Where once a grassy bank played host to hearts that beat as one When daylight held such joy no scribe could justice bring of sweet refrain Skylarks chirped their lullaby’s in hovered stance of shadowed beat As love in surging torrents raced beyond to ‘Stratford Mill’...

Alone with solitude of mind unable to proceed in thought I ponder where my life will lead, in years approaching future tense Existence had excitement full, of love, adventure and content No more is shared within as was, a sense of longing to impart Simplicity of love...

A man lives life alone If he’s lucky for a moment He will meet someone And she will ease his pain But Just like a raindrop It never lasts And he always ends Alone

So there they are, not loving, caring Afraid to show the hurt they're bearing A life of love lies shattered, lost, They feel the hurt and count the cost How soon the hope of future died How quickly one deceived and lied The other left to try and cope With love devoid...

A dark and cloudy sky holds court above the earth so green and damp My spirit needs uplifting; lonely days bereft of smiles and fun I try to lose myself in books sitting next to reading lamp Tis then I hear the call to soar and fly beneath the sun Breaking through the...

Those autumn leaves of gold and red Are set to drive me off my head I sweep them up each afternoon And work into the evening gloom But as I go to fetch my bin The wind just blows them off again Next day I work with bin close by As more leaves fall from out the sky I...

Old Master ‘Lao’ Confucius say, stripped him bare of prideful ways In leading from the front step back and let the people bask in glow Desires too numerous therein, in truth demeaning all his days A thoughtful contemplation gained, in stillness of the life we know The...

Come free this mind from bars and shade, Allow my longed for serenade Tis time to sing of love and joy, With thoughts our feathered friends employ Of sweet refrain I’ll chirp and trill, To soar and dream at freedoms will, To swoop and glide o’er hills and glen Until...

Announced by winged Angelic form, this Child who would be Man Prophesied in ancient text His coming couched in metaphor In Trinity exists His fate, as Sacrificial Lamb To resurrect and overcome the darkness held inside for sure Outwardly a boy who walked a grown man’s...

Mind not the thoughts I think Nor the things my mind has thought Down deep inside there is a link Whence such words are brought Lord Buddha in His wisdom sound Spake acts of peace come from within In words both loving and profound Lest not to seek without, on whim No...

The games are done, the gongs are won. Our spirits, lifted for a while, Must now confront reality, Abandoning the fairy tale We wove in order to forget Our world of inequality, Our negative economy, Our drifting into poverty. Returning to adversity, Forced back to...

With flame of peace bereft of air Our Gladiators still their beat Ambitions held in check once more Such able souls have touched our hearts In ways we can’t deny Some sights we’ve seen beyond our ken Incredible and rare Determined to succeed in life No obstacle can...

Mother, Father, new born son Happy family now begun Baby boy soon starts to walk Learning fast, begins to talk Mother, Father, new found joy A sister for their little boy Mother, Father, sister, brother Now no room for any other Loving family, growing fast Happiness...

Distorted view in mirrored hall, long of face and squat of stance Imagined lot of poor return, when gifts were shared upon this earth Unfamiliar lookalike, with life rewarding scope curtailed Be grateful for small mercies, proffered wisdom oft’ times heard Bear like...

Hail to thee good Sir, I chanced to notice thou have needs I find myself without employ, I’m sure that thine heart bleeds Yet still I proffer thee my troth, perchance thou may comply Lest morrow brings for lady fair, such time no food can buy Replete with charges...

I can’t hold you by the hand and wave a magic wand I can’t change what has happened and all bad within the land I can’t give you the strength to carry on and put up a good fight I can’t stop your worries or the tears all through the night I will say a prayer for you...

Complexion of magenta hue, when Desert sun bids evening call Secreted Neath "Jabal Haroum", where Aaron lay his weary head This city of the dead pours forth through narrow chiselled gorge A wanderer’s oasis on nomadic treks, where caravans do forge Touched by Moses...

My mother’s sister, Aunty Ann, Had no children of her own. I was my parents’ only child, No others in the family. Ann displayed no jealousy, But had a special bond with me And we were always comfortable In each others’ company. Their other sister, Aunty Eve, Again,...

Free from all pain and sorrow now The willows in your honour bow. We choose a path, we onward go And what awaits us who can know? At peace, now, in eternal sleep Of glory poets will ever speak... The breath of Autumn warms the air That gift of life, you too, once...

You think I’m a complex man, is that who I am? Why try and work me out, I’ll only leave you with some doubt. We are all unique, Yes, both you and me, I'm sure you agree. I am not your modern day footballer who collects his wages in a hay loader from the Premier League...

My brain anticipates the pain, as off I go in search of youth To finely hone what once was mine, a temple to my dreams Then as now my aim was clear, to rid my frame of Earth bound gait A hoped for target to be met by forceful strength of mind To fly as if no thought...

Though graceful frame no longer floats o’er pugilistic square Nor leads with lethal jab, in stinging style beyond compare Such memories are held of Him when skipping ‘round the ring An image of a sporting god who made our young hearts sing He danced as if sweet music...

I heard my brother calling me To join him once again Where God has eased his suffering And freed him from his pain I see him in my dreaming Walking tall and strong In the house where we were children The place we could belong No longer is he shackled No braces slow...

I'm waiting for inspiration Pen and paper both new Searching for words or a sentence To write a poem or two There is no flash or a drum roll Or trumpet-loud fanfare I search my mind's dark corners For ideas lurking there I read the poems of others To find ideas anew...

Ever since a was a wee bairn, a played wie a Fitba From John O’, doon tae Brighton, a must ‘ave played ‘em all But a didnae see oot like im, in any five-a-side hall That ‘Big Girls Blouse’ kid, who plays wie is ain Fitba He stans up like a statue, in defensive part o'...

When you step on a landmine Sometimes it’s a beginning not an end It opens your eyes To truths that you would never know

Whilst out with the Countess of Cleese I suddenly started to sneeze She said " Stop your snorting, And start some cavorting Just give this old Countess a squeeze." Now I'm not an out and out prude The demand I considered quite rude I stepped back quite quickly Which...

In frozen winter's grasp, the land Lay frozen, un-attended Yet sprang to life in April's sun A sign that winter's ended And so we tilled the warming earth So grateful that we could But May brought rain and rain again To turn the fields to mud All through June and then...

It’s late and the bottle’s almost empty Another night trying to forget Memory on pause, feelings locked away A brief interlude from life Before reality returns And I remember

Sixty minutes lying here, I ask myself for what A promise of a rendezvous with the Angel of my dreams Scented whispered words of love, I can't believe my lot Ladies have prerogatives; at least that's how it seems Could be doing something else, like kicking football in...

On a Sunday, in the summer, My parents and I, with bucket and spade, Would go to the station at South Tottenham To get on the train for a day at the sea. It would take an hour; chuffety chuff. When we got to Westcliff we’d get off And walk down the hill onto the prom....

In tribute to the king of gods ‘’Zeus’’ In a month long period ‘’the Sacred Truce’’ Started long ago in south west Greece Olympians gathered and met in peace To these modern times from long ago Let all our hearts and spirit show United, resolute, bold and brave Lets...

I cry for the world in turmoil I cry for the world in pain I cry for the lost and lonely Who cry in the wilderness in vane? I cry for those that are grieving For all the tears they have cried For all the emotions they experience For the confusion deep down inside I...

I look in the mirror and see my dad; It happens more often as I get older, I look more like him above the shoulder. I look at my daughter and see my dad. Wherever I look I seem to be spooked; I find it daunting, he seems to be haunting. When I search for my mum my dad...

We mustn’t forget how we got To be who we are and where we are; Looking at the photographs Of family members from the past, Many of whom we don’t recognise, Elderly women and elderly guys, People from previous generations Who came here from other nations Each with...

It’s sunny, it’s clammy, the heat is terrific. Everyone’s happy, unless sat in traffic. People meander when crossing the street, Taxis are threatening to drive on their feet. A man with two children’s attempting to cross, The drivers won’t let him, they don’t give a...